BITS AND PIECES - NEWS ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS By Michael McDowell
THE NIGHT OF LUV':
PATTY BRARD'S
PANTER PARTY
REUNITES THE GREATS
Sometimes a summit meeting is answered prayer.
Such was the case in Amsterdam on 14 March, when nine of the giants of the Netherlands' most treasured vocal groups joined forces to celebrate Luv' co-founder Patty Brard's seventieth birthday.
With such monster classics as Trojan Horse (issued on Polydor in the U.S.), Casanova, You're The Greatest Lover and Saint Tropez to their credit, Luv' (Brard, Jose Hoebee and Marga Scheide) and their producer, the late Hans van Hemert firmly established themselves as one of the twentieth century's premier vocal trios. Sadly, Hoebee's health challenges have prevented them from persevering as a unit for the time being.
Undaunted, and with her seventieth birthday approaching, Brard called upon veterans of several other pioneering vocal units to join forces for a one-off summit meeting. That event, Patty's Panter Party took place before a capacity crowd at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome on 14 March.
Chief among the other participants was Babe lead vocalist Marga Bult. Together with Rita van Rooy and Margot van de Ven, Babe established one of the most impressive legacies in all of music with such game changing singles as Dolly The Doll, Explosive, (Don't You Ever) Shop Around, Boomerang, Shocking, Indian Habits and their utterly stupendous Together In Love Again. While Babe has been on a professional sabbatical since 1986, Bult, van Rooy and van de Ven remain close.
Also participating in the summit meeting were veterans of several other beloved vocal groups. They included Rowan Moore of Centerfold, Caren Wood of Maywood, Anita Heilker and Esther Oosterbeek of the Dolly Dots (whose 1981 Keep On Doing It single saw release on Atlantic in the United States), Caroline De Windt and Jetty Weels or Mai Tai, and Laura Vlasblom and Mandy Huydts of Frizzle Sizzle.
"Thank you for a fantastic birthday party", said Brard.
"Nothing but love!"
"You and your entire production team threw a great birthday party", Bult added.
"Made so many people happy!"
To quote a classic cut from the 1978 debut album by Luv', it was a Dream Dream come true.
LOVE AND LET LOVE:
REAPPRAISING
ROBERTA FLACK
(1937 - 2025)
Sometimes first impressions should not be enduring ones.
In the early 1970s, mainstream rock demonstrated a high level of enamoration with dirges. That is, slow to mid tempo material, with the emphasis on mood (which was frequently melancholy or somber), and often at the expense of songwriting. Its omnipresence was enough to inspire a backlash among the increasingly disenfranchised purist contingent, ultimately leading to the indie rock revolution at mid-decade.
Ironically one hit 45 which fit that model impeccably was a three year old album cut when it made its mark as a single in 1972. Composed by Ewan McColl and previously recorded by the Kingston Trio on their New Frontier LP in 1962, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face ultimately became a hit from the Atlantic label First Take album by composer, vocalist, pianist, one time school teacher and Black Mountain, North Carolina native, Roberta Cleopatra Flack.
At the time, that single was not exactly met with enthusiasm on this end. The so-called dirge era did much to fuel disillusionment with what the great Michael Nesmith astutely referred to as the Grand Ennui. And while subsequent Flack singles such as Killing Me Softly With His Song and her Where Is The Love duet with the late Donny Hathaway did raise the enamoration factor somewhat, the impetus to investigate further was ultimately long in coming.
Nonetheless, it came.
Around the turn of the century, a journalistic colleague who was an ardent champion of Flack's work encouraged further investigation. As it turned out, he was right.
From the onset, Flack's catalog proved to be full of pleasant surprises. They included an astute pairing of Leonard Cohen's Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye and the Gene McDaniels-penned Les McCann and Eddie Harris monster classic, Compared To What on a 1969 Atlantic 45. It was followed by the utterly stupendous, Gospel-flavored Go Up Moses, the magnificent Heaven Above Me duet with Peabo Bryson for Capitol in 1983 and 1988's ambitious Shock To My System.
In turn, Flack's albums reflected rich and inspiring diversity of genre that ran the gamut from her cerebral Blue Lights In The Basement LP to the soul/Gospel fervor of her 2006 live album for Deluxe. Suffice to say that any such initial misgivings about that 1972 Atlantic single were more than assuaged in the process.
Sadly, Flack was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2022. She succumbed to the disease on the morning of 24 February 2025. Flack was 88.
DREAMIN' MY DREAMS:
REMEMBERING
MARIANNE FAITHFULL
(1946 - 2025)
Rare is the vocalist who can both master the high drama approach and sustain it at optimum level over long periods of time.
Among the absolute masters in that respect are Gene Pitney, Janis Joplin and George Jones. Standing tall alongside of them would be vocalist, actress and Hampstead, London native Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull.
The daughter of a military intelligence officer and and an aristocrat, Faithfull endured health challenges in her formative years; mostly via recurring bouts of tuberculosis. She also attended a convent school, where she studied drama.
By 1964, Faithfull's interest in folk music led to frequent appearances at coffee houses. That year, she was discovered by Rolling Stones manager and producer, Andrew Loog Oldham. She signed with London records in the United States and Decca in the UK. By October, her As Tears Go By single toppled the Supremes' Baby Love off of the number one position on suburban Detroit's highly influential AM radio outlet, WKNR Keener 13.
The triumphs followed in rapid succession, including This Little Bird (also recorded by the Nashville Teens for MGM), Go Away From My World, Counting and the sublime Come And Stay With Me. Her magnificent Summer Nights single was also covered impeccably for Dot by Lawrence Welk.
Although Faithfull faced a number of well publicized challenges by decade's end and into the 1970s, she ultimately bounced back with a vengeance. Her 1971 Rich Kid Blues album was widely hailed as a game changer, as was 1979's Broken English. She had also made her mark in motion pictures, with key roles in Hamlet, Marie Antoinette and The Girl On A Motorcycle.
Sadly, Faithfull passed away in her London home on 30 January, with family members at her side. She was 78.
I THANK YOU:
REMEMBERING
SAM AND DAVE'S
SAM MOORE
(1935 - 2025)
"Dave and I may have had some differences in the past. But when it comes to music, we are FOR REAL!!"
So said Sam And Dave co-founder and Miami, Florida native Samuel David "Sam" Moore in an interview published in Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People in 1978. Indeed, few musical duos delivered as consistently and intensely as did Moore and his late colleague, David Prater Junior. So much so that one of their acclaimed albums for the Stax label was aptly titled, Double Dynamite.
Sam And Dave made their debut for Henry Stone's Marlin label in 1961. The following year, the ambitious duo joined forces with the great Morris Levy at Roulette Records, for whom they recorded several additional singles and an album.
It was during their tenure with Roulette that Moore and Prater learned a valuable lesson that would ultimately shape and define their musical mission statement. At one recording session, the legendary Sam Cooke stopped by the control booth to offer encouragement and advice. Duly motivated, Moore and Prater gave it their all in the studio for Cooke, complete with their on stage choreography.
To their dismay, Cooke turned his back to them during their entire performance. Moore perceived Cooke's gesture as an affront and confronted him. However, Cooke explained that the average listener who purchased their records would not have such a visual image at their disposal, and would only be able to assess them via the music found in the record itself.
That bit of sage advice stuck with Moore and Prater, and served them well upon signing with Stax in 1965. Indeed, their partnership with Stax proved to be one of the most productive in music history, producing such monster classics as You Don't Know Like I Know, I Take What I Want, Soul Man, I Thank You and their utterly stupendous Hold On! I'm Comin'.
When Blitz Magazine met with Moore in 1978, years of the realities of the business had taken their toll.
"We just released a version of the Beatles' song, We Can Work It Out", he said.
"I don't have any hope for it though, because I don't think the company will give it any push".
Nonetheless, their live performance that evening assured them otherwise.
"I leaned over to one of the tables in the middle of the show and said to a guy sitting there, 'I don't understand this. How come you people are enjoying us so much?' ", he said.
"And he said, 'Because we're starving for this kind of music, man!' "
Moore and Prater continued to perform together until Prater's tragic passing in an automobile accident in Georgia in April 1988. Sadly, Moore also succumbed to complications following surgery in Coral Gables, Florida on 10 January. He is survived by his wife Joyce, daughter Michelle and two grandchildren. Moore was 89.
HOT SHOT:
BABE'S MARGA BULT'S
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
OF GRATITUDE
Birthdays can be a mixed blessing.
On one hand, a birthday can signify accomplishment and joy. Conversely, birthdays can also serve as a reminder of everything from loss to the aging process.
In general, Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People does not chronicle birthday and / or anniversary celebrations, primarily because of the high volume of celebrants involved. Nonetheless, exceptions are made upon occasion when the event occurs in tandem with other developments in the career of a given artist.
Such is definitely the case this year with Babe lead vocalist Marga Bult, whose recovery from injuries sustained in a fall at home several weeks ago has been chronicled extensively in Blitz Magazine. Thankfully, Bult's recovery has progressed to the degree that she has pretty much been able to resume her normal day to day routine.
Since succeeding outgoing lead vocalist Gemma Van Eck (who opted for a solo career) in the closing weeks of 1981, Bult and her Babe colleagues Rita van Rooy and Margot van de Ven spent the next half decade establishing the beloved Dutch trio as one of the premier vocal groups of the twentieth century.
In the process, Babe also tirelessly championed the most essential attribute of relentless optimism in their mission statement. Not surprisingly, that virtue (along with her trademark sense of humor) continued to serve Bult well as she made plans for her 02 July birthday celebration in the wake of her recent challenges.
"I notice now that I'm getting older that I'm getting much stronger", Bult said with tongue in cheek.
"I can lift 150 Euros' worth of groceries now! That didn't work before".
On a slightly more serious note, Bult opted to trransform her 02 July birthday observance into a combination celebration with her son (whose celebrated his own birthday on 01 July) and a family holiday.
"I turned a year older, but for the first time, I'm celebrating it in Altea", she said.
"You have to experience everything in life at least once, right? (My family and I) are making it a very sunny and cozy party together".
Meanwhile, Babe's legions of devotees continue to hold out hope that one of Bult, van Rooy and van der Ven's frequent reunion meetings will result in the most welcome news of a return to the recording studio, to live performance or both. Babe has been on a professional sabbatical since 1986, although they remain in close contact with one another.
"Sweet, thank you", said Bult, who is also a registered nurse.
And a reciprocal thank you to Marga Bult from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People, with a benediction for birthday blessings in abundance.
posted by BlitzMagazine at 8:47 PM
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